Maine's Todd Jackson, a senior captain, has seen all of the extreme
highs and lows surrounding the Black Bear program over the past
four years. He played in all 39 of his team's games as a freshman,
and was a key player as a sophomore when the team rode the emotion
from coach Shawn Walsh's death and played into overtime in the
national championship game.

Jackson leads
his team with 21 goals and ranks third in scoring with 33 points.
Plus, he was named Hockey East's Best Defensive Forward. Next
week's semifinal against Boston College will be Jackson's 160th
in a Maine jersey, so who better to weigh in on this year's Black
Bears and the upcoming Frozen Four?

Senior
Todd Jackson was named 2004 Hockey East Best Defensive Forward
last month.

Inside
College Hockey: Your team has gone through a lot over the last
four years. What does it mean to be able to end your career at
the Frozen Four?

Todd
Jackson: It means the world. I came to the University
of Maine for the chance to win a national championship. We've
had our chances but haven't quite done it yet. It's my senior
year. This is it for me and the rest of the seniors. I think in
the past few years it's been a little different because you can
always have next year. This is it.

INCH:
Do you feel that even though you're ranked number one in the polls
that you might not be getting the same respect and notoriety as
some other programs?

TJ:
I don't think that stuff's important, what other people are saying
or who's getting more press. All that matters is who's holding
the trophy at the end of the year, and we want that to be us.

INCH:
What makes you guys so succesful in one-goal games? (Maine is
14-4-0 in one-goal games and its last seven games have been one-goal
wins.)

TJ:
I think it's a combination of things. The ultimate factor is the
character of our team. I think everyone is accepting their role
and our depth is incredible and our goaltending has been great.
It's just been a combination of things that's made us successful.

INCH:
Describe your leadership style as a captain.

TJ:
I don't think I speak up that much but if something comes up that
needs to be said, I won't hesitate to say something. I try to
lead by example and hopefully guys respond to that.

INCH:
Tell us something about your team that we don't know. Are there
certain things that you guys do off the ice together?

TJ:
We have our kangaroo court before every road trip where guys get
fined for doing stupid things or whatever. It keeps everyone on
their toes, and it's a fun thing. Just little things like that
are what I'm going to miss most about Maine.

INCH:
What about superstitions?

TJ:
Everyone's got their own little superstitions, but I'll keep those
private right now because we don't want to ruin anything.